Staff Pick: Arctic Monkeys and The Orwells

Thursday

Feb 6, 2014 at 12:01 AMFeb 6, 2014 at 1:46 AM

In 2005, the Arctic Monkeys (pictured) exploded onto the scene with the kinetic "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor," singer/guitarist Alex Turner packing in his words as though he had to get it all out in that brief pause before the DJ switched tunes. The band returned to the club on songs like "No. 1 Party Anthem" off last year's noir-ish A.M., though the mood was noticeably restrained, as though the buzz had worn off and been replaced with a creeping sense of dread, which might help explain why local rapper Fabrashay sampled the band's "Do I Wanna Know?" for his latest single, the high-tension "A Rebel With a Cause."

Openers the Orwells are far too young for such existential concerns, and the Chicago crew’s performances are roughly as predictable as March Madness, hinging on the antics of frontman Mario Cuomo, a blonde wild man with at least a little Iggy Pop in his DNA.